Krabat (Marco Kreuzpaintner, 2008)

The story of Krabat and the Legend of the Satanic Mill will mean little to audiences outside Germany, who'll be unmoved by tweaks to details such as the precise chronological setting of Otfried Preussler's classic children's novel. So that just leaves judging it against any other effects-laden fantastical fare involving teenagers and evil wizards.
It stands up reasonably well: the story of the cornucopia-like mill powered only by human remains and the sorcerer who operates it with his captive workforce of boys orphaned by the plague raging through the land around them is ripe with potential, and a combination of scenic photography with generally more restrained FX than Hollywood could cope with adds a nice gloss. A shame, then, that it doesn't do anything novel with it all: the bland hero will prevail and love will defeat tyranny. No fiasco, but nothing for an adult audience unless encumbered with nostalgia.

5/10